KYQ4: Crinkle Crags

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Ascent: 773 metres
Distance: 12 kilometres
Time: 3 hours 9 minutes

Pike O' Blisco 705m 45mins
Crinkle Crags 859m 1 hour 48mins
Cold Pike: 701m 2hrs 29mins

It was the fourth day of sunshine, almost a record during the 37 years we have been holidaying in the Lake District. We had planned to climb the two hills above the Wasdale screes from Eskdale Green. Gregor would tackle Lingmell as well as he approaches a finish to the 214 Wainwright hills and Aileen would walk up Mittledale where I would meet her on my way back from Whin Rigg and Illgill Head. It involved a drive over Wrynose and Hard Knott passes so the intention was to start early at 7:30am to beat the traffic and get the best of the weather, which was to be in the morning. At 8:10am. the others were still watching TV and eating breakfast so I announced the last call and with no response decided to go alone. I dropped the plan for Wastwater, we would do that another day, and decided to climb three hills including Crinkle Crags from below the Wrynose pass. It was a good decision, it was still cool and the visibility was amazing in the early morning.

I took a direct route up Pike O' Blisco over Black Crag, it was steep but dry underfoot and the sheep kept the grass at levels suitable for walking. Topping Pike O' Blisco from the south is a treat as the Lakeland Fells appear in all their green and rock rippled glory. The Great Langdale valley was a rich emerald finger of memories, and the Scafell range sketched a scalloped skyline of crags set against a blue sky. The surprise is that there were no others on the fells on what would be one of the very best summer days. I dropped down the stony path to Red Tarn, the grey rock suddenly changing to rich red Blisco sandstone for a small area around the tarn.

The path from here to Crinkle Crags climbs at an easy gradient, with many steps to ease the climb past Great Knott. The gradient only increases on the final climb through some crags to the first cairn of Crinkle Crags at 834 metres. It was perfect fell walking with the Scafell Range urging me on as I dropped down again before scrambling up to the summit, Long Top. I had been there a few minutes when a young couple arrived, the first people I had seen all morning. The views were as good as I can ever remember during a dozen or so visits to Crinkle Crags. The promised cloud cover had not arrived so I briefly thought about carrying on to Bowfell but it would have added an extra hour and I had pangs of guilt about leaving the others behind.

I began the descent towards Cold Pike, a long traverse across a flattish and boggy grassland, it is an easy stroll. I met a man on his descent and we chatted for a while, he had driven up from Kirkham. leaving home at 6:30am. He told me that he savoured every extra day he could spend in the fells now that he was 76 years old. He looked lean and walked with a life practised stride, he intended to go over Crinkle Crags and Bowfell before returning to Langdale. It always pleases me when I hear others enthusing about the fells.

Cold Pike does not have the views of Pike O' Blisco or the mountain feel of Crinkle Crags so I continued on an easy descent to the path that runs up from the top of Wrynose Pass at Three Shires Stone. There were some path builders working on a section below Red Tarn Moss that had become boggy with the fairly heavy traffic of walkers. They told me that the John Muir Trust had leased some land near Helvellyn but seemed a bit dismissive about the work that was going on there.

As I arrived back at the top of the pass all the parking spots were occupied. I jogged down the pass to the car and then attempted the slow negotiation of the drive to Little Langdale as the day tourists were heading the other way on the narrow single track road.

Gregor and Aileen had enjoyed a walk to the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel after I left them without transport. They had a coffee outside on a perfect summer morning. I was slightly envious, this was where I had bought my first pint of beer as a 16-year-old having climbed the Langdale Pikes on a similar summer morning many moons ago. They seem to have forgiven me for my selfish exit whilst they were still having breakfast.

The day had become too hot for any further activity but Gregor managed a run to Tarn Crag and back as we spent some time in Grasmere in a long queue for ice cream desperate to swop our masks for a cone. We were aware that most other visitors had disposed of their masks in a contrarian 'do what I say not what I do' homage to the disgraced Matt Hancock.